Conserve Energy, Address Climate Change with Kokua Earth Action Projects

Posted On: Oct 01, 09

Calling on all students and teachers in Hawai’i to create innovative projects for energy conservation and climate change! Kokua has partnered with the Department of Education and several other local organizations to launch the Hawai’i School Conservation Awards to promote behavior change and advocacy to conserve energy and resources in Hawai’i.

There are two award categories schools can enter:

Energy Conservation Award
This award goes to the top three DOE schools with the greatest decrease in energy consumption (by percentage) in the Fall 2009 semester compared to each school’s 2003-2006 baseline usage. (All DOE public schools are automatically entered!)

Conservation Advocates Award
This award encourages student to be advocates for energy conservation and awareness at their respective schools. Student campaigns should employ multi-media and activism components to elicit positive school-wide awareness and behavior change in the area of energy conservation. A panel of judges from the Hawai’i School Conservation Challenge Committee will select the top three projects. (Any Hawai’i public or private school group, club, or class is eligible to enter.)

  • Prizes: The top three projects will win a variety of Prizes.
  • Who is Eligible? Any Hawai’i public or private school group, club, or class may enter.
  • How to Enter: Applications will be processed through the Kokua Earth Action Projects Program. Student groups should develop a service learning project with an energy conservation theme. Applications are posted at the KHF website. Deadline is 12/18/09.

Explore www.HawaiiSchoolConservationAwards.org, to learn more about the awards, prizes and how to enter. The site also has a variety of educational resources available to your school, including Energy Detective Kits students can use to quantify and minimize classroom energy use.

Blue Line Project
Blue Planet Foundation is working with schools and other community partners to highlight the threat of climate change on Hawai’i and other Pacific islands.
The project, which will take place at locations statewide on Saturday, October 24, is part of a larger international effort on that day coordinated by an organization called “350.org.” The 350.org campaign is intended to raise awareness for the most important number for the Earth’s future, 350, which represents a “safe” target for the concentration of carbon dioxide in our
atmosphere in parts per million (ppm).

While anyone is welcome to participate in the blue line chalking activity, the project’s focus is on students. The Blue Planet Foundation is providing schools a “Blue Line Package” that will include gifts, materials, educational information, sea level rise maps, and—of course—blue chalk for the campaign.

Schools can register for the event online at www.bluelineproject.org